Compressed Natural Gas station to service up to 83 METRO buses at Fallbrook Bus Facility
Texas company Freedom CNG has received approval from the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s board of directors to break ground on its third fast fill compressed natural gas (CNG) fueling station in Houston in cooperation with CenterPoint Energy Services (CES) and the Houston-Galveston Area Council (H-GAC), further encouraging the local use of clean fuel vehicles in the state’s southeast.
With plans to open in the third quarter of this year, the station will service METRO’s newest additions to its fleet — up to 83 CNG powered transit buses. The station will serve third-party users from passenger vehicles to tractor trailers, 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Freedom CNG will spur CNG adoption by surrounding municipalities, school districts and governmental agencies by encouraging the use of inter-local agreements with METRO to purchase CNG fuel.
“Freedom CNG’s vision for the future is to provide enough accessible, fast-fill CNG fueling stations in the Houston area for fleets to have the confidence to adopt CNG as their preferred fuel of choice,” said Bill Winters, Managing Member of Freedom CNG. “When fleet owners believe they can fuel their vehicles in any area of the county, CNG adoption will occur more rapidly and become widespread.”
Winters said there are approximately 100,000 short haul diesel vehicles in the eight counties surrounding Houston and it has been estimated that replacing them with CNG power over time can reduce nitrogen oxide emissions by as much as 50,000 tons per year, resulting in an enormous improvement in air quality.
CNG is a fossil fuel substitute for diesel fuel, gasoline or propane and is the cleanest, least expensive alternative fuel available. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), CNG’s combustion produces 20 percent less carbon dioxide (a greenhouse gas), 70 percent less carbon monoxide, 89 percent less volatile organic compounds and 87 percent less nitrogen oxide than petroleum-fueled vehicles. The American Natural Gas Association (ANGA) reports diesel exhaust includes more than 40 substances that are listed by the EPA as hazardous air pollutants.
(Source: Freedom CNG)
